Fruit-press.



J. HEAGERTY.

FRUIT PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.11. 1911v Patented Nov. 24. 1914.

,'& MIEJ Alfomey THE NORRIS PETERS 00-. PHOTO-Lima. WASHINUIUN, D. C.

JEREMIAH HEAGERTY, OF OSWEGO, NEW YORK.

FRUIT-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24, 1914:.

Application filed. August 11, 1911. Serial No. 643,585.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEREMIAH HEAGERTY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oswego, in the county of Oswego and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Presses; and I do hereby declare the following to be .a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to presses and more particularly to fruit presses.

An object of the invention is to provide a press for pressing fruit in a barrel and forcing the top of the barrel in position upon the fruit.

Another object is to provide means for forcing a barrel head in position upon a barrel containing fruit, the mechanism being of such form as to overcome any unevenness of resistance caused by the fruit being packed higher and tighter in one portion of the barrel or on one side thereof and thus offering more resistance at this point.

Another object is to provide mechanism of this character to be clamped to the barrel and having a screw provided with right hand threads upon its upper end and left hand threads upon its lower end, the right hand threads working through a socket in the central portion of a cross brace secured to the clamp arms while the left hand threads upon the lower end of the screw engage the interior threads, of a non-rotating socket carried by the vertically movable head engaging block which presses against the barrel head and forces the latter in place, thus obtaining twice the power for compressing the contents of the barrel, heretofore, obtained by employing a-screw having only one set of threads (either right hand or left hand) with the lower end of the screw swiveled to the head engaging block.

Another object is to provide a fruit press of this character having guides carried by the head engaging block and working upon the clamp arms to guide the block in a vertical direction and prevent rotation thereof.

Another object is to provide a fruit press of this character which will be of simple form, positive in operation and cheap to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter. set forth and pointed out in the specification and claim.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application, Figure 1 is an elevational view of the press applied to an ordinary barrel, showing the same after the head of the barrel has been forced into place, Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view therethrough, the barrel and clamping arms being broken away from a short distance below the head of the barrel, and Fig. 3 is a detailed View of one of the guide plates.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 represents a barrel of usual construction employed for packing apples and in fact fruit of various nature.

The head 2 of the barrel 1 is engaged upon its upper face after being placed upon the top of the barrel 1, by the head engaging block 3 which is preferably circular in formation, but may be of any form or size desired, the form and size thereof being governed by thev diameter and type of the barrel.

Riveted or otherwise secured to the center. of the block 3 and upon its upper side is the interiorly threaded socket 1 which is fastened in place by means of the rivets 5 or other suitable means. Fastened to the upper surface of the block 8 by means of the bolts or rivets 6 are the oppositely positioned guide plates 7 having the parallel fingers 8 projecting in opposite directions from the block and adapted for engagement upon opposite sides of the clamping fingers 9, the lower ends of which are suitably bent as shown at 10 for engagement around the lower edge of the barrel 1. The clamping fingers 9 are positioned parallel to one another and extend vertically upon opposite sides of the'barrel 1. The upper ends of the clamping fingers 9 are connected, a short distance above the barrel 1, by means of the crossbeam 11 having its opposite ends connected. to the upper ends of said clamping bars 9. The central portion of the crossbeam 11 is enlarged and provided with an upwardly extending hollowed out circular portion 12 provided with right hand threads upon its interior, the purpose of which will presently appear.

An operating screw 13, provided with left-hand threads 1st upon the lower portion thereof, and right-hand threads 15 upon its upper portion, has its head 16 secured against rotation within the cap 17 through which extends the handle or slidable bar 18, transversely of the cap 17 and at rightangles to the screw 13. The right hand threads 15 are engaged with the threads upon the interior of the extension 12 carried by the cross beam 11 while the left hand threads are in engagen'ient with the threads within the threaded socket 4: carried by the block 3.

After the fruit has been placed in the barrel 1 the head 2 is positioned upon the fruit and the head engaging plate 3 engaged upon the upper side of the head 2. The lower end of the screw 13 having first been screwed a suitable distance into the interiorly threaded socket a and the upper end of the screw 13 rotated the proper distance out of the extension 12 of the cross beam 11, the socket 4 resting within the recess 19 provided therefor in the cross beam 11. The handle bar 18 is then grasped and turned to rotate the cap 17 and move the upper end or right hand threaded portion of the screw 13 downwardly through the extension 12, it being understood that the screw 13 is turned or rotated to the right. This will cause the lower threads or left hand threads it upon the screw 13 to work toward the upper end of the interiorly threaded socket 4. As the screw 13 is moving downwardly the socket 1, being incapable of rotating, will be compelledto move in a downward direction and press the head engaging block 3 against the head 2 of the barrel 1, forcing said head within the circular groove 20 provided therefor in the interior of the barrel, adjacent the upper edge thereof. The block 3 will be prevented from. rotating and will be guided downwardly by means of the fingers 8 of the guide plate 7, and engaged upon opposite sides of the clamping bars 9. After the head 2 is secured in position, the pressure thereagainst may be relieved by swinging the handle bar 18 in the opposite direction and thus draw the screw 13 upwardly, the right hand threads 15 working upwardly through the interiorly thread ed extension 12 and the left hand or lower threads 14- working downwardly upon the interior of the socket 4: and drawing the latter together with the head engaging block 3 upwardly toward the cross beam 11, after which the device may be detached from the barrel.

It will be seen that this press will force the head 2 in position regardless of the unevenness of the resistance offered by the fruit or other contents of the barrel 1. It will also be apparent that this device may be effectively employed for packing fruit or other products within barrels, and forcing the heads thereof in position. The mechanism may also be readily and easily operated and may be manufactured at a small cost, as will be evident owing to the comparatively small number of parts and the simple formation of the same.

By providing the right and left hand threads within the extension 12 and the socket a, respectively, and employing the screw with the right hand threads 15 upon its upper portion and the left hand threads 14: upon its lower portion, the operator is enabled to force the head engaging block 3 twice as far downwardly with each revolution of the handle bar 18 and screw 13 as has heretofore been possible by the use of an operating screw provided with only one set of threads, either right hand or left hand, and having its lower end swiveled to the head engaging block. In this new form, the head engaging block is forced in a straight downward direction and prevented from rocking and thus allowing one edge to move downwardly farther than the remaining portion of the block under the in fluence of uneven resistance offered by the contents of the barrel.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a fruit press of improved form, construction and operation and one which will. be more highly efficient and more effective than the devices of this character heretofore invented.

What I claim is:

The herein described fruit press comprisinga head engaging block having an interiorly threaded socket of trunco-conical form, guide plates projecting in opposite directions from said block, clamping fingers having lower ends to engage the lower end of a barrel, said fingers being received between and guided'by said guide plates, a cross beam. conn cting said fingers at their upper ends and provided at its center with an upwardly extended interiorly threaded hollow portion, the portion of said cross beam beneath and in alinement with said hollow portion being formed with an upwardly eX- tended tapered recess, to receive said socket, an operating screw provided with. right and left hand threads, the former of which e11- gages the threaded interior of said hollow portion and the left hand threads engaging the threads of said socket, said screw passing loosely through said recess and the socket movable into said recess as the beam and block approach each other, and a cap within which the head of said screw is secured against rotation and adapted to receive an operating handle and to seat upon said upwardly extended portion of the cross beam.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JEREMIAH HEAGERTY. lVitnesses:

FREDERICK W. COLLINS, WM. J. HEAGERTY.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

